The Eastern Conference’s top team will be on the road when the Atlanta Hawks (53-17) head to the Amway Center to face the Orlando Magic (22-50). Action begins at 7:00 pm ET on Wednesday, Mar. 25 and can be seen on SPSO and FSN-FL.
The Magic are are expecting a better outcome after their 119-100 loss to the Nuggets on Sunday. Victor Oladipo was the team’s leading scorer with 21 points. The Hawks, meanwhile, are feeling some disappointment after the awful 114-95 loss against the Spurs on Sunday. Paul Millsap led the team in scoring with 22 points.
Elfrid Payton and Oladipo have been better than usual over the last five games for the Magic. During that stretch, Payton has averaged 13.2 points, 8.2 rebounds, 9.4 assists, and 2.6 steals, while Oladipo has recorded 23.2 points, 4.4 rebounds, 5.0 assists, 1.8 steals, and 1.4 three-pointers a game.
The Magic may have trouble getting to the line in this one. They’re 27th in the NBA in free throw attempt rate (23.6), while Atlanta is among the NBA’s least foul-prone squads (yielding a free throw attempt rate of just 24.0, first in the NBA). Moreover, the Hawks rank third in effective field goal percentage at 52.7%, whereas the suspect field-goal defense of the Magic places 29th with opponents connecting at a clip of 51.8%.
The Hawks lead the season series against the Magic two games to one, including a 95-88 win the last time these two teams met. Al Horford put up a double-double in the victory with 17 points and 13 rebounds.
The odds for Orlando and Atlanta are even, while the Over/Under (O/U) is currently unavailable. The Magic come into this game 22-50 Straight Up (SU) and 37-34-1 Against The Spread (ATS). They typically cover the spread against the Southeast, with an ATS record of 9-5. SU, however, they are only 4-10.
Over on the other bench, the Hawks have a record of 42-28 ATS and 53-17 SU. Despite having a winning record against its own division, Atlanta is unsuccessful ATS in those games with a record of 2-3. The Hawks convert their shots at a high percentage, ranking third in the league at .465. The Hawks are an unselfish team with an average of 25.4 assists per game, ranking second in the NBA. Moving on to Atlanta’s defense, teams with weak ball handling have not fared well against the Hawks, who rank fifth in the league with 9.0 steals per game. Atlanta is the fifth-best team in the league at scoring points off turnovers with 18.3 per game.
The Hawks’ win over Orlando in their last clash bumped their SU record over the last 10 meetings to 7-3. The Magic lead the matchup ATS with a record of 7-3. Atlanta held the edge in field goals, rebounds, and three-pointers once, while Orlando was never able to do so in their most recent 10 games.
Predictions: SU Winner – ATL, ATS Winner – ATL
Notes
Orlando is 1-7 SU in its last 8 games.
Orlando is 2-4 ATS in its last 6 games.
The total has gone OVER in 4 of Orlando’s last 5 games.
The total has gone OVER in 5 of Orlando’s last 5 games at home.
Orlando is 8-15 SU in its last 23 games at home.
Orlando is 3-12 SU in its last 15 games when playing Atlanta.
The total has gone UNDER in 19 of Orlando’s last 25 games when playing Atlanta.
The total has gone OVER in 4 of Orlando’s last 6 games when playing Atlanta.
Orlando is 2-5 SU in its last 7 games when playing at home against Atlanta.
Orlando is 4-8 ATS in its last 12 games when playing at home against Atlanta.
The total has gone OVER in 4 of Orlando’s last 6 games when playing at home against Atlanta.
Atlanta has a 9-2 record against the Southeast Division this season, while Orlando has a subpar 4-10 record against the division.
Atlanta ranks ninth in points per game with 102.6, while Orlando ranks 25th in points allowed with an average of 102.1 given up.
Orlando ranks 28th in points allowed per home game (102.9 PPG), while Atlanta ranks ninth in points per away game with 102.2.
When the Orlando Magic allow under 100 points they are 15-19, while the Atlanta Hawks are 17-10 when they don’t hit triple digits.
The Orlando Magic have a subpar 7-31 record in games where they have allowed at least 100 points. The Atlanta Hawks are 36-7 when they hit triple digits.
The Magic have an offensive rating of 99.5 (ranked 27th). The Hawks rank 10th for their defensive rating of 100.8.
With 96.6 possessions and .995 points per possession, the Orlando Magic perform worse on both metrics than the Atlanta Hawks. Atlanta averages 96.6 possessions and 1.062 points per possession.
The Atlanta Hawks have one of the best effective field goal percentages this season, ranking third in the league with an EFF% of 52.7%. When their opponents record a similar or higher EFF%, the Orlando Magic have an abysmal 4-29 record.
Orlando makes an average of 20.6 assists per game (ranked 24th). Atlanta ranks higher in assists with 25.4 (ranked second).
Orlando makes an average of 3.8 blocks per game (ranked 29th). Atlanta ranks higher in blocks with 4.7 (ranked 14th).
The Orlando Magic rank 27th in offensive rebounding, while the Atlanta Hawks rank 20th in defensive rebounding.
Atlanta averages 9.0 steals per game, ranking fifth in the league. Orlando is an underachieving 9-29 when it allows at least 8 steals.
